Condensation-gutter for skylights.



F. L. KEPPLER. CONDENSATION GUTTER FOR SKYLIGHTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3. I917.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Application filed August 3, 1917. Serial No. 184,303.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. KEP- PLER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inCondensation-Gutters for Skylights, of which the following is aSpecification.

My invention relates to improvements in condensation gutters forsky-lights and has for one object to provide in connection with asky-light construction a new and improved form of condensation gutterand drainage system whereby the gutter itself will be insulated from theoutside cold thus preventing the formation on the gutter itself. Anotherobject of my invention is to provide a simplified condensation gutterwherein the minimum obstruction of light will be permitted. Otherobjects of my invention time to time in the specification.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawing, wherein- Figure 1 is a section through a skylight;

Fig. 2 is a part plan view;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on Fig. 3.

Like parts are indicated by like characters in all the figures.

A is a building wall. Mounted upon it is a roof girder A Supported fromthe wall by any suitable means not here shown is a girder A A are angleor bench plates mounted on the girders A and A .A is a glass concretesky light'panel or structure supported at its edges on the girdersupported plates A as indicated. This structure forms the roof itself.Its surface is exposed to the atmospheric conditions outside thebuilding, its inner surface to atmospheric conditions inside thebuilding. In col weather it will be exceedingly cold and the moist airinside coming in contact with the cold inner surface will condense. Itis this condensation which my invention provides for carrying'away.

The sky light structure is made up as 1ndicated of a series of separateglass tiles B, B which are provided with corrugated upper surfaces B asindicated arranged ad acent one another to contain a concrete or theline H of plastic filling material B embedded in which is'a series ofmetallic reinforcing bars so that when the concrete has set the tilesare held together as a single unitary translucent structure. Each tilehas four downwardly depending sharp edged walls as indicated. Two ofthem, B B are parallel with the upper surface of the tile. The othertwo, 13*, B are downwardly and outwardly inclined so that any water ofcondensation developing on the surface will run down to the walls 13*and thence follow the small portion in Fig. 3 to the lowest point of thetile where the water will drip oif. The water which thus drips off willbe caught in the gutters 13 ,13 which conform to the slope of the roofand discharge into a main gutter These gutters B, B are arrangedparallel and owing to the peculiar shape of the lower walls of the glasstile sections no cross gutters are needed, the water being conveyed fromeach tile to the longitudinal gutters on either side thereof.

Thesegutters are supported a short dis tance below the sky light farenough down so that they are insulated by an air cushion from the skylight itself, and thus protected from the extremes of temperature.

The upper ends of the gutters B are supported on-the brackets G restingupon the members A and lying beneath the concrete filler which surroundsthe outer portion of the sky light. They are thus not directly exposedto the outside atmosphere but insulated by the concrete which forms aconsiderable insulation and which in view of the small size of theconnecting member does not result in any material cooling of the gutteritself. The same arrangement prevails at the lower end where a bracket Csupports the gutter resting on the support beneath the sky lightstructure. This insulating of the concrete is assisted by a thin layerof any suitable insulating material C This insulating layer may be madeof rubber cement, asphalt, fiber board, cork and the like, but rubbercement is particularly suitable for the purpose. This may or may not beused as the case may be depending on the extremes to be encountered andother conditions. C C are elastic cement expansion joints providedbetween adjacent sky light sections whereby they may be permitted toexpand and contract without danger of springing a leak or the like.

It will be evident that while I have shown in my drawings an operativedevice, still many changes might be made both in size, shape andarrangement of parts without departing materially from the spirit of myinvention and I wish, therefore, that my drawings be regarded as in asense diagrammatic.

D is a gutter supporting angle iron comprising an angle having oneflange extending down across in front of the edge of the member A theother flange resting upon that member. The'skylight structure itselfrests upon such member being insulated from it as at C The gutter itselfis mounted upon the flange being insulated from it at D the two partsbeing bolted in position. By this arrangement .of course, the

flange supporting the gutter is insulated from the outside and thegutter itself is insulated from the flange so that there is a minimumtendency for any cooling of the gutter itself which would cause it tocatch condensation.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows z- With thestructure in place, condensation will as indicated form on the undersurfaces of the tile. It is a wellknown fact that the waterof'condensation will not let go of the surface until it reaches itslowest point'and thus the water will travel along the inclined tilesurfaces and be discharged along the lowest straight edge of the tilewhere it will be caught by the sky light and which being insulated fromthe outside air areof substantially the same temperature as the room andthus do gutters beneath not give rise to any condensation themselves.

This water is carried off by these series of gutters and discharged inany suitable manner. In view of the fact that the tiles are so shapedthat all the water discharged is on two opposed sides of the tile, itwill be understood that there is no necessity for any cross guttersexcept at the lower edge to join the inclined lateral gutters together.These inclined gutters being very narrow since the point dischargingthem is localized by the shape of the tile, will afford a minimum ofobstruction to the light coming in through the sky light. The downwardlyinclined condensation surfaces as shown lead the water of condensationto the acute drip edges and the water then runs along these acute edgesdown along the uninclined drip edges where the lowest point is reachedand where the water finally drops off into the drip gutters.

I claim: 1. A glass tile for sky lights and the like having formed onits under side a plurality of downwardly inclined condensation surfacesterminating in a plurality of conuected acute drip'edges depending.below mounted thereon, tile being shaped to catch the condensation saidtion drip edges,

the point of support of the tile, some of said edges being inclined meetthe other edges.

2. A glass tile for skylights and the like downwardly to consisting of arelatively thin central por- 'tion, a thickened tile base portionsurroundtion, a thickened tile base portion surrounding it, and aplurality 'drip edges depending below't'he point of "of connected acutesupport of the tile forming the inner side of sald base portion.

4. A glass tile for sky lights and the like having formed on its underside a plurality of downwardly inclined condensation surfacesterminating in' a plurality of :con- 'nected acute drip edges, some ofsaid edges being parallel with the top of thetile and others beinginclined downwardly to meet them. v

5. A sky light structure comprising a supporting framework, a glass tilestructure the undersides' of the'glass to concentrate the drip ofcondensation along parallel lines and gutters arranged beneath suchlines adapted gutters being out of contact with the tiles and the'mem-'bers directly supporting them.

6. A sky light structure comprising a supporting framework, a glass tilestructure mounted thereon, the underside ofrthe glass tile being shapedto concentrate the drip. of condensation along parallel lines andguttersarranged beneath such lines for .condensation adapted to catch thecondensa tion said gutters being out of contact with the tiles and incontact with the supporting framework only at the edges of the/tilestructure. 7 V

'Z. In a skylight structure the combination of a tile supportingframework, approximately rectangular" tiles supported thereon thelowersurfaces of which terminate on two opposite sides in acutecondensasaid tiles being arranged to form parallel lines of drip edges,with parallel gutters arranged beneath such parskylight structure, thecom- 7 a1lel gutters arranged beneath the drip edges, sald gutters outtile and the members of contact with the directly supporting them, saidgutters supported only at their 5 ends.

parallel drip edges,

with a plurality of parallel gutters arranged beneath the drip 10 edges,said gutters out tile and the members Copies of this patent may beobtained for of contact with the directly supporting them, said gutterssupported only at their 7 ends, and being insulated at their ends fromthe tile supporting structure.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signa- 15 ture in the presence of twowitnesses this 18th day of July, 1917.

FREDERICK L. KEPPLER.

Witnesses:

JOHN J. Mooim, ARTHUR S. BURTON.

five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

